Last updated on June 17th, 2021 at 02:00 pm
Kola Urundai / Mutton Keema Balls – Here is the recipe for one of my favorites ways to make Mutton kola urundai. I say “one of” because there are a gazillion ways to make kola urundais and this is one of them. These mutton balls are made with cooked minced meat ground with a few spices to give the perfect South Indian flavor. Make extra, it gets over super quick!
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Don’t you just want to grab one and eat it? That’s what always happens when we make this mutton kola urundai. This is one of my recipes to make mutton balls. There are at least 5 recipes that I have and love! One from my mother in law, one from a friend of mine, one from another friend’s mother, one from a neighbour and so on.
All these recipes vary between cooked and uncooked versions. Uncooked version is where I grind the meat in a wet grinder; although it results in excellent mutton kola urundai, it is a bit difficult to clean afterwards. And that’s the second most important thing when it comes to cooking. Other versions are variations in methods or ingredients.
But this right here is the recipe that I often make. This is not a once in a year kinda affair, you can make it whenever you want. Let’s get to it!
Mutton Kola Urundai Recipe:
What goes into this mutton kola urundai:
- Meat: I like to use lean mutton meat for this dish. I usually ask my husband to tell the butcher to remove all that excess fat and then mince it up really fine. Otherwise, they just include those fat bits and mince it all up and it just becomes too fatty. And it also prevents a lot of spluttering when you fry these kola urundai.
- Masala Paste: Some pearl onions are sauteed until they are nice and bronw, which adds sweetness to it. Pearl onions with some spices, green chillies make the masala paste that gives the kola urundai so much flavor.
- Thickeners: The masala paste itself is a thickener but peanuts and coconut are also sweeteners and thickens up the kola urundai. More like fillers actually.
- Binders: Egg is added to bind everything together and it also makes the outer surface so crisp.
Serving and storing these mutton keema balls:
Serve these mutton kola urundai / muttom keema balls immediately, it justs tastes better and more importantly crisp on the outside. These mutton balls do still taste good after it cools down. You can make some nice tacos with them or add it to curry to make mutton kola urundai kulambu!
Tips to note:
- If you can’t find minced meat, use fat removed (lean meat) boneless mutton.
- Instead of the whole spices – cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, you can use 1 tsp of garam masala.
- For a spicier version, add two more green chillies.
- The texture of the meatballs should be coarse, that how you’ll get a crispy outside.
- You can also replace ginger and garlic with 1 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste.
- Ensure that the cooked meat is drained properly. We don’t want too much water which will end up absorbing too much oil.
More recipes you might like:
- Cauliflower 65/ Gobi 65 recipe
- 15-minute spicy chicken stir fry recipe
- Homemade falafels recipe
- Chicken Seekh Kebabs recipe
Kola Urundai | Mutton Kola Urundai | Mutton Keema Balls
Equipment
- Blender
- Saucepan
- Deep Fryer
Ingredients
To cook the meat:
- 750 g Mutton Keema , fat removed and minced* and washed
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Water , to boil
For the kola urundai:
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 130 g Pearl Onjons , approximately a handful
- 5 medium Green Chillies , stalks removed
- 40 g Garlic , 8-10 garlic pods, peeled
- 15 g Ginger , peeled, approx. 2 inch piece
- 1 tsp Pepper Powder
- 1.5 tsp Fennel Seed Powder/ Sombu Thool
- 1.25 tsp Cumin Seed Powder/ Seeraga Thool
- 2 Cloves
- 2 inch Cinnamon Stick
- 2 Cardamom Pods
- 60 g Coconut bits , or grated, approx 4 tbsp of grated coconut
- 30 g Roasted Peanuts , skin removed
- 1 medium Egg , free range
- Coconut Oil or Any Vegetable Oil , for deep frying
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, add the mince meat, turmeric and sea salt. Pour in some water enough to cover the meat. Boil it for 15 minutes. After the time is up, drain the meat by pouring it through a colander. (Use the water to make curry or discard it.)
- While the meat cooks, place a sauté pan on heat. Add the sesame oil and let it heat up. Once hot, add the pearl onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Sauté until the pearl onions are translucent and begin to brown.
- Now, transfer these from sauté pan to a blender or mixer grinder and add the peanuts in. Blend until you get a nice smooth paste, then add the coconuts and grind it until the coconut is broken down to coarse texture. Remove this paste to a mixing bowl. Set it aside.
- To the same blender, add the cooked minced meat and grind it until it is coarsely broken down. DO NOT blend until it becomes a paste. Pulsing it a few times will do the job.
- Transfer the ground meat to the mixing bowl which has the masala paste. Top it off with the egg and mix it all together thoroughly. Make tiny balls out of it, approximately 2-inch diameter.
- Heat the oil in frying pan. (Test with a tiny bit of meat mixture; it should immediately come up.) Once it's hot, add the balls to the oil one by one. Do not over crowd it; there should be enough room for them to float around.
- Fry them in MEDIUM heat for 4-5 minutes or until they are nicely deep brown in colour. Drain it and serve them immediately!
Notes
- If you can’t find minced meat, use fat removed (lean meat) boneless mutton.
- Instead of the whole spices – cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, you can use 1 tsp of garam masala.
- For a spicier version, add two more green chillies.
- The texture of the meatballs should be coarse, that how you’ll get a crispy outside.
- You can also replace ginger and garlic with 1 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste.
Made this? Got doubts? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
